Supporters, opponents split on Patrick gun control bill

Governor says legislation closes loopholes in gun laws

UPDATED 6:49 PM EST Jan 16, 2013

BOSTON -

Gov. Deval Patrick is filing gun control legislation he says will close loopholes in Massachusetts' existing laws while strengthening mental health services.

Some measures in the bill have been filed by Patrick in the past, including restricting gun owners to purchasing one firearm a month and mandating buyers undergo background checks before purchasing weapons at gun shows.

Activists for gun control say Massachusetts laws are good now, but "... Massachusetts is not an island," said Christine Robinson of Citizens for Safety, adding "between 50 and 60 percent of guns at least that turn up on our streets used in crimes are trafficked in from other states with weak gun laws."

The mother of a victim of gun violence said laws need to be tougher. Kim Odom's 13 year old son Stephen was killed as he returned to his Dorchester home from playing basketball.

"The epidemic of gun violence that has impacted our society and hurt the most vulnerable of our society which are our children. Oftentimes people say when a child is killed, they were in the wrong place at the wrong time," Odom said. "Our children are not in the wrong place, they're walking home, they're at the playground, they are in school."

The bill would also tighten access to high-powered ammunition, create four new types of firearms-related crimes, and require the state to send all relevant mental health records to a federal gun license registry.

But gun rights advocates say the state already has strict laws.

"We already have some of the most restrictive laws in the country in Massachusetts, but unfortunately they are also some of the most confusing and that’s the problem with enforcement," said James Wallace of the Gun Owners Action League.

The push for tighter gun laws has intensified in the wake of the Newtown, Conn., school shooting.

Patrick's bill also includes $5 million for Department of Mental Health programs, including training teachers to recognize symptoms of mental illness in students.

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